I have a valid passport and have been to the following countries: Germany, Austria, Italy, France (twice), Monaco, Switzerland, Mexico and Belize.
I speak English, mangled Spanish, tourist Italian and can insult people in Russian, Farsi and Hindi. I also can say in a reasonable accent "I do not understand French" and "A carafe of water please".
I have dated someone from every continent except Australia and Antarctica.
I think that under the current qualifications guidelines set in last night's debate that I should qualify for Secretary of State or at least ambassador to the UN.
So what post are you qualified for?
Saturday, September 27, 2008
The girl effect
This made me all gushy.
When you consider the feminization of poverty in our own country, and all the right wing sexism (and left wing apathy) towards women, it becomes very clear that the continued oppression of women in all countries is damaging to everyone, not just women but families and neighborhoods and entire economic systems.
Throughout the world, women do most of the work and receive little of the profit. Even in the most competitive levels of the Oppression Olympics, the female version of any oppressed group will always be treated more harshly by society than the male version.
But when you give women a chance, you change everything. Women are more likely to put their earning back into the the family than men. Educated women are more likely to make sure their children are educated (both boys and girls). Investing in women is a sound strategy for reducing global pain.
h/t to Tennessee Guerrilla Women
When you consider the feminization of poverty in our own country, and all the right wing sexism (and left wing apathy) towards women, it becomes very clear that the continued oppression of women in all countries is damaging to everyone, not just women but families and neighborhoods and entire economic systems.
Throughout the world, women do most of the work and receive little of the profit. Even in the most competitive levels of the Oppression Olympics, the female version of any oppressed group will always be treated more harshly by society than the male version.
But when you give women a chance, you change everything. Women are more likely to put their earning back into the the family than men. Educated women are more likely to make sure their children are educated (both boys and girls). Investing in women is a sound strategy for reducing global pain.
h/t to Tennessee Guerrilla Women
This is what a "progressive" city looks like
So I was all set to bitch about a nearby suburban school district's egregious policy of feeding kids who can't pay for lunches a cold cheese sandwich when I found out my kid's school district has a more draconian policy of not feeding kids at all. Guess it pays to do some research, eh.
But then I went and read the comments on this story. I should not read the comments. I don't know why I continue to think that Seattle is a progressive city when it is full of bitchy fauxgressives & closet libertarians.
Here's a selection of comments for your (barf) amusement:
Yes cause there are no poor people in Seattle. Doncha know I'm secretly wealthy and choose to live as a poor person because I have secretly taken a vow of poverty. At least there won't be for long with the increasing rents. And perhaps this commenter's atrocious spelling (elemeNtary) might have been helped if he'd had a nice hot meal in school. Or perhaps he's just an asshole.
Huhm, I have a funny feeling that the quote above was from someone who thinks fat people spend their entire day shoving McDonalds in their gaping maws.
Ah yes- more criminalization of the poor. Lock up those parents cause we all know there are thousands of loving foster homes to take those kids in. Right. Right.
But then I went and read the comments on this story. I should not read the comments. I don't know why I continue to think that Seattle is a progressive city when it is full of bitchy fauxgressives & closet libertarians.
Here's a selection of comments for your (barf) amusement:
What is harsh is teaching kids that there is such a thing as a free lunch and that you can game the system. "Free food", for whatever reason isn't free and takes away from other parts of education.
We are talking about teenagers here (not elemetary kids) who are children of Seattlites. Not exactly a poor city with lots of poverty.
Yes cause there are no poor people in Seattle. Doncha know I'm secretly wealthy and choose to live as a poor person because I have secretly taken a vow of poverty. At least there won't be for long with the increasing rents. And perhaps this commenter's atrocious spelling (elemeNtary) might have been helped if he'd had a nice hot meal in school. Or perhaps he's just an asshole.
You know, if a kid turns up at the end of the line with no money to pay his tab, that doesn't mean the parents didn't fork it over. When I was a kid most people I knew would rather skip a meal than fork over any dough, especially dough that was already nestled safely in the 7-11 cash register. You can hardly move around in the convenience stores and fast-food joints around any Seattle-area school for the crowds of kids buying (or shoplifting) junk.
Huhm, I have a funny feeling that the quote above was from someone who thinks fat people spend their entire day shoving McDonalds in their gaping maws.
i think the point is: just because kids aren't bringing their lunch doesn't make it the schools' fault, and the school should not be paying the price.
perhaps there should be a measure in place to contact child protective services if parents are negligent in providing food or funds for their children to eat lunch. but the already overburdened school system should not be required to hand out free food.
Ah yes- more criminalization of the poor. Lock up those parents cause we all know there are thousands of loving foster homes to take those kids in. Right. Right.
If I had to pick a God(dess) to worship
It might be Echidne:
The substance of the debates was not terrible, actually, because the questions were substantial. Obama's answers were considerably better on the economic questions, though both candidates failed to realize that anyone who proposes cutting public spending when a major depression looms should probably be hung and quartered, never mind that most people don't understand how important NOT to cut public spending is in such a situation. To give you a simple example: Suppose that we do get a major recession and that lots of people lose their jobs. Is that the time to cut back on unemployment benefits, hmh? And how would cutting back those benefits affect the ability of people to go on consuming that some other workers could keep their jobs longer?
Read the rest here, though I still think both candidates are assholes on the economy.
The substance of the debates was not terrible, actually, because the questions were substantial. Obama's answers were considerably better on the economic questions, though both candidates failed to realize that anyone who proposes cutting public spending when a major depression looms should probably be hung and quartered, never mind that most people don't understand how important NOT to cut public spending is in such a situation. To give you a simple example: Suppose that we do get a major recession and that lots of people lose their jobs. Is that the time to cut back on unemployment benefits, hmh? And how would cutting back those benefits affect the ability of people to go on consuming that some other workers could keep their jobs longer?
Read the rest here, though I still think both candidates are assholes on the economy.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Debate news
Except for McCain's freudian slip about the free market being the solution for families and their deceased, erm I mean doctors, this debate was a snoozefest.
Oh there was the little moment where Obama finally opened up to something Hillaryesque with a shout out for HOLC.
But for the most part- I can see little reason why I I would vote for either of these clods.
Instead, I want suggestions for the most perfectly outrageous person I could write in. Bernard says Bush, but we don't want to give Bush a MANDATE to stay with my one little write in vote. I suggested Al Gore and a time machine. He thinks Al Gore is too reasonable, but the time machine part may push it over the top.
How about you peeps?
(And PS to McCain- if Obama really did have the most liberal voting record in the senate, I might actually vote for him. But that line was old with gore, tired with Kerry and fucking pathetic with Obama).
Oh there was the little moment where Obama finally opened up to something Hillaryesque with a shout out for HOLC.
But for the most part- I can see little reason why I I would vote for either of these clods.
Instead, I want suggestions for the most perfectly outrageous person I could write in. Bernard says Bush, but we don't want to give Bush a MANDATE to stay with my one little write in vote. I suggested Al Gore and a time machine. He thinks Al Gore is too reasonable, but the time machine part may push it over the top.
How about you peeps?
(And PS to McCain- if Obama really did have the most liberal voting record in the senate, I might actually vote for him. But that line was old with gore, tired with Kerry and fucking pathetic with Obama).
I'm making Whiskey Sours
And totally stealing the Presidential drinking Game Rules from Feministe
* Every time someone mentions “hope” or “change,” drink.
* Drink double every time the mention of “change” comes from McCain.
* For every mention of “my fellow Americans,” drink.
* Every time the candidate steers away from the question asked to highlight his own talking points (we call that a Palin), drink twice.
* For every mention of “earmarks,” drink.
* Every time a candidate rephrases a repeat talking point, drink.
* If McCain shames Obama for not dropping out of the first debate, drink.
* For every mention of activist judges, drink.
* For every mention of failed bipartisanship efforts that failed because the opposing party are a bunch of sniveling assbabies, drink.
* If McCain blows a racist dogwhistle, drink thrice.
* If McCain sounds like he’s trying to unseat an opposing party instead of a fellow Republican, chug.
* When McCain grumpily alludes to the more important things he has to do, chug.
* Spit out your beer and yell at the TV if McCain insinuates Obama is a) Muslim or b) the antiChrist.
* Finish your drink if someone mentions a Clinton.
I fully expect to spend the rest of the weekend hungover.
* Every time someone mentions “hope” or “change,” drink.
* Drink double every time the mention of “change” comes from McCain.
* For every mention of “my fellow Americans,” drink.
* Every time the candidate steers away from the question asked to highlight his own talking points (we call that a Palin), drink twice.
* For every mention of “earmarks,” drink.
* Every time a candidate rephrases a repeat talking point, drink.
* If McCain shames Obama for not dropping out of the first debate, drink.
* For every mention of activist judges, drink.
* For every mention of failed bipartisanship efforts that failed because the opposing party are a bunch of sniveling assbabies, drink.
* If McCain blows a racist dogwhistle, drink thrice.
* If McCain sounds like he’s trying to unseat an opposing party instead of a fellow Republican, chug.
* When McCain grumpily alludes to the more important things he has to do, chug.
* Spit out your beer and yell at the TV if McCain insinuates Obama is a) Muslim or b) the antiChrist.
* Finish your drink if someone mentions a Clinton.
I fully expect to spend the rest of the weekend hungover.
Treat them like they live in government housing
Maybe I'll write in Wanda Sykes for president. She seems to know more shit than either candidate
Well thank god they closed my account
I had been a WAMU customer for some time, but this summer my bank account got overdrawn when WAMU suddenly when crazy with the overdraft fees (nearly 7 fucking years without a bounced anything and then suddenly I'm racking up $200+ bucks a month in fees).
Anyways, it broke me. There was no (or very little) money coming in and there was no way for me to pay the $235 I was overdrawn. So they closed my account a few weeks ago.
And then last night the Feds took over WAMU.
I am feeling a wee bit zen about that at the moment.
Anyways, it broke me. There was no (or very little) money coming in and there was no way for me to pay the $235 I was overdrawn. So they closed my account a few weeks ago.
And then last night the Feds took over WAMU.
I am feeling a wee bit zen about that at the moment.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
We Deserve it Dividend- Lottery Shopping
One of the things the Kid and I do in times of mass suckitude is "Lottery shopping". Mostly we imagine what our super cool house would be like. But we also plan trips, etc.
So I was thinking about what we would do if we did give every grown up in the country $297,000 instead of bailing out the rich. It's not enough to buy a house here. It's almost enough to buy a 2 bedroom flat. It is enough to pay off all my debt (about 10k) and make my credit pretty. And it's enough to pay for me to finish college with living expenses. Plus, if I got the money for back child support from Kid's dad, I could put 40K into a college fund for him.
So if you got $297K, what would you do?
So I was thinking about what we would do if we did give every grown up in the country $297,000 instead of bailing out the rich. It's not enough to buy a house here. It's almost enough to buy a 2 bedroom flat. It is enough to pay off all my debt (about 10k) and make my credit pretty. And it's enough to pay for me to finish college with living expenses. Plus, if I got the money for back child support from Kid's dad, I could put 40K into a college fund for him.
So if you got $297K, what would you do?
RQ Cooks- Roasted Spaghetti Sauce
It's that most tomato-y time of the year, and tonight the Kid and I are heading over to Miss J's to roast up a ton of spaghetti sauce. I like this so much better than your regular stewed sauce. It has a supper summery flavor. It can live in the freezer for months. And it cleans out the veggie bins in the fridge.
So start with a ton of tomatoes. The best sauce comes from a mix of toms, so I will throw grape tomatoes and any heirloom types I can find in with my standard romas. Cut each of the toms in half and place in a large metal baking dish (lasagna pans work best)
Quarter some onions and shallots and add to the mix. If you've got celery, chop it roughly and throw that in there too. Pop in whole Parisian mushrooms if you like. Drizzle the whole thing with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and some Worcestershire sauce. Add salt and pepper. And sprinkle generously with your favorite Italian herbs. I usually cover it in basil, but if you're an oregano fan you can use that too.
Turn the oven on to broil (450 degrees) and place the pan on the bottom most rack.
At the same time, you can roast some garlic and peppers. I usually take 3 heads of garlic in a metal bread pan and brush liberally with olive oil. Place on top rack in broiling oven and turn heads over as each side becomes black. For peppers, just wash and place directly on the rack next to the garlic. Once all sides of the peppers are black, throw them into a paper bag to cool. Then skin, seed and chop.
The garlic and the peppers should finish before the toms. Once everything is done and roasted, peel the garlic and throw everything (including the liquid from the roasting pan) into a food processor. You will have little black chunks in your sauce. That is okay.
Kid likes his with meat- so I usually cook up some Italian sausage and reheat the sauce over the sausage while the noodles cook. Or you can go veg (or vegan if you get vegan Worcestershire sauce). Either way it's a mouth full of sunny goodness.
So start with a ton of tomatoes. The best sauce comes from a mix of toms, so I will throw grape tomatoes and any heirloom types I can find in with my standard romas. Cut each of the toms in half and place in a large metal baking dish (lasagna pans work best)
Quarter some onions and shallots and add to the mix. If you've got celery, chop it roughly and throw that in there too. Pop in whole Parisian mushrooms if you like. Drizzle the whole thing with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and some Worcestershire sauce. Add salt and pepper. And sprinkle generously with your favorite Italian herbs. I usually cover it in basil, but if you're an oregano fan you can use that too.
Turn the oven on to broil (450 degrees) and place the pan on the bottom most rack.
At the same time, you can roast some garlic and peppers. I usually take 3 heads of garlic in a metal bread pan and brush liberally with olive oil. Place on top rack in broiling oven and turn heads over as each side becomes black. For peppers, just wash and place directly on the rack next to the garlic. Once all sides of the peppers are black, throw them into a paper bag to cool. Then skin, seed and chop.
The garlic and the peppers should finish before the toms. Once everything is done and roasted, peel the garlic and throw everything (including the liquid from the roasting pan) into a food processor. You will have little black chunks in your sauce. That is okay.
Kid likes his with meat- so I usually cook up some Italian sausage and reheat the sauce over the sausage while the noodles cook. Or you can go veg (or vegan if you get vegan Worcestershire sauce). Either way it's a mouth full of sunny goodness.
The only plan that has made any sense so far
Ruth and I were talking this morning about how all that's on the news is the bailout, but no one is explaining anything that makes sense.
Ruth has a giant math brain, easily able to understand complex problems and solutions. I have a superhero talent for deciphering bureaucracy speak. And neither of us can figure out what the fuck is really going on. And that is what really scares me. You don't know how many half written blog posts are sitting in the que because I just can't figure out what the fuck they are trying to do (other than fuck over the entire American populace, but that ones obvious)
Then along comes James Galbraith with the only fucking plan that makes actual sense to me.
Go read the rest of his article. And then have a stiff drink as you realize that neither political party has plans to do anything like this to fix our upside down system.
Or you can go for wishful thinking with Blue Lyon. I could certainly use the We Deserve It Dividend. Kid and I could have a home with that.
H/T to Anglachel
Ruth has a giant math brain, easily able to understand complex problems and solutions. I have a superhero talent for deciphering bureaucracy speak. And neither of us can figure out what the fuck is really going on. And that is what really scares me. You don't know how many half written blog posts are sitting in the que because I just can't figure out what the fuck they are trying to do (other than fuck over the entire American populace, but that ones obvious)
Then along comes James Galbraith with the only fucking plan that makes actual sense to me.
Is this bailout still necessary?I trust Galbraith. I trust his ideas and his family history of pulling this country through devastating economic downturns. His father, John Kenneth, was FDR's architect for the New Deal and James has continued on with progressive ideas for how to help the economy (and the majority of us regular people that make up the economy).
The point of the bailout is to buy assets that are illiquid but not worthless. But regular banks hold assets like that all the time. They're called "loans."
With banks, runs occur only when depositors panic, because they fear the loan book is bad. Deposit insurance takes care of that. So why not eliminate the pointless $100,000 cap on federal deposit insurance and go take inventory? If a bank is solvent, money market funds would flow in, eliminating the need to insure those separately. If it isn't, the FDIC has the bridge bank facility to take care of that.
Next, put half a trillion dollars into the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. fund -- a cosmetic gesture -- and as much money into that agency and the FBI as is needed for examiners, auditors and investigators. Keep $200 billion or more in reserve, so the Treasury can recapitalize banks by buying preferred shares if necessary -- as Warren Buffett did this week with Goldman Sachs. Review the situation in three months, when Congress comes back. Hedge funds should be left on their own. You can't save everyone, and those investors aren't poor.
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With this solution, the systemic financial threat should go away. Does that mean the economy would quickly recover? No. Sadly, it does not. Two vast economic problems will confront the next president immediately. First, the underlying housing crisis: There are too many houses out there, too many vacant or unsold, too many homeowners underwater. Credit will not start to flow, as some suggest, simply because the crisis is contained. There have to be borrowers, and there has to be collateral. There won't be enough.
Go read the rest of his article. And then have a stiff drink as you realize that neither political party has plans to do anything like this to fix our upside down system.
Or you can go for wishful thinking with Blue Lyon. I could certainly use the We Deserve It Dividend. Kid and I could have a home with that.
H/T to Anglachel
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Whispering Sweet Nothings to the Banksters
Your Democratic leaders in Action (while talking about the possibility of including the ability for bankruptcy judges to re-write the terms of mortgages, you know the ONLY proposal in the bailout plan that MIGHT ACTUALLY SAVE A FUCKING HOUSE)
Of course Obama has already shelved his half assed healthcare plan. Can't afford it now that we have to pay for Wall Street's illness. I'm waiting for them to cancel all public school education because the stock market is broken.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Obama said the provision was a priority, but one that he'd be willing to sacrifice in the interest of a bipartisan deal.That's right little people. You poor homeowners are once again fodder in the struggle for bipartisan cooperation among the privileged. Can't let those pesky things like waves new homeless people get in the way of saving our friends, the banksters.
He said he told Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the majority leader, that the measure "is probably something that we shouldn't try to do in this piece of legislation."
Of course Obama has already shelved his half assed healthcare plan. Can't afford it now that we have to pay for Wall Street's illness. I'm waiting for them to cancel all public school education because the stock market is broken.
What could actually persuade me to vote for the unity pony.
If he got off the campaign trail, went back to Washington and started doing his job of governing the country.
None of this I'll show up if the vote on the bailout bill (TARP) is close but won;t make a speech crap. He needs to show up. He needs to say "I'm going to do my job to fix the country. And BTW- Fuck you Paulson and Bush for this shock doctrine attempt at blackmailing the country into handing over 700 billion bucks and retroactive immunity."
If he did that, I could actually vote for him. But as usual, Obama comes up with a half assed attempt that doesn't fix anything but makes him feel better about being a douchebag.
None of this I'll show up if the vote on the bailout bill (TARP) is close but won;t make a speech crap. He needs to show up. He needs to say "I'm going to do my job to fix the country. And BTW- Fuck you Paulson and Bush for this shock doctrine attempt at blackmailing the country into handing over 700 billion bucks and retroactive immunity."
If he did that, I could actually vote for him. But as usual, Obama comes up with a half assed attempt that doesn't fix anything but makes him feel better about being a douchebag.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Excuse me if I can't find my tiny violin.
For the rage of the recently rich.
I've had my own bad day, thank you very much.
The single tiny benefit I get from my job has been a quarterly $10 bus pass. That is it. No retirement. No health care. No discounted state employee tuition. No sick days or paid vacations. No cost of living raises. Nothing but a buss pass.
And I just found out that the price for my buss pass has gone from $10 a quarter to $120. I am so pissed right now that I can't even do the math on what percentage of an increase that is.
But that is not all the bad news.
There is a level 3 sex offender who has or will be starting classes on my tiny campus. I am totally fine with giving everyone (even sex offenders) the chance to rehabilitate themselves. But the administration in all it's wisdom decided that my campus can share a security guard with the campus 2 blocks away. I am often the only staff member here after 4pm. It is a very desolate spot in an otherwise urban area. My boss is worried for me. I am worried for me. I don't even know who the student is. And who wants to bet that the administration is not going to shell out for another security guard but will instead cut my hours (and the lab hours) so that they don't have to shell out the extra cash.
This is fucking intolerable.
I've had my own bad day, thank you very much.
The single tiny benefit I get from my job has been a quarterly $10 bus pass. That is it. No retirement. No health care. No discounted state employee tuition. No sick days or paid vacations. No cost of living raises. Nothing but a buss pass.
And I just found out that the price for my buss pass has gone from $10 a quarter to $120. I am so pissed right now that I can't even do the math on what percentage of an increase that is.
But that is not all the bad news.
There is a level 3 sex offender who has or will be starting classes on my tiny campus. I am totally fine with giving everyone (even sex offenders) the chance to rehabilitate themselves. But the administration in all it's wisdom decided that my campus can share a security guard with the campus 2 blocks away. I am often the only staff member here after 4pm. It is a very desolate spot in an otherwise urban area. My boss is worried for me. I am worried for me. I don't even know who the student is. And who wants to bet that the administration is not going to shell out for another security guard but will instead cut my hours (and the lab hours) so that they don't have to shell out the extra cash.
This is fucking intolerable.
You know what I can't find
Anything giving me the expected numbers of foreclosures, or the recent national numbers for foreclosures.
And I am a fucking google queen. I am a pro at finding obscure numbers, like the percentage of non-custodial parents in arrears on child support payments or the percentage of income given to charity by economic class (the poor give about the same percentage of income as the rich overall, but it hurts them more to do it.)
So why can't I get real numbers on this shit?
And I am a fucking google queen. I am a pro at finding obscure numbers, like the percentage of non-custodial parents in arrears on child support payments or the percentage of income given to charity by economic class (the poor give about the same percentage of income as the rich overall, but it hurts them more to do it.)
So why can't I get real numbers on this shit?
Questions for Berneke and Paulson
I'm at work so I may actually have missed all the question asking that congress is doing, but I have a few of my own questions for the masterminds of the bankster bailout.
1) Exactly how many homes will be saved from foreclosure under this plan? 1 or 2, maybe even a dozen? Does that number include the vacation homes of the banksters who will get to keep their giant bonuses and therefor not have to worry about losing their ski chalet in Aspen?
2) What does the American public get for 700 billion dollars? Anything? For 700 billion plus 4 extra bucks we might get a Starbucks coffee. But what exactly is the benefit to the American taxpayer for spending this money. Is there any value in it for us?
3) Why is this so last minute? Why do we have to decide right now when you two have been telling us the worst was over for months?
4) This whole no oversight of the treasury department clause- it feels like the financial version of the enemy combatant thing. Aren't you really just trying to pull a fast one on us (again) to gain more executive power?
5) So what you're really saying is that it's going to cost us 700 billion PLUS our constitutional rights to democratic oversight to save these companies? Is that really a cost effective use of our money and rights?
1) Exactly how many homes will be saved from foreclosure under this plan? 1 or 2, maybe even a dozen? Does that number include the vacation homes of the banksters who will get to keep their giant bonuses and therefor not have to worry about losing their ski chalet in Aspen?
2) What does the American public get for 700 billion dollars? Anything? For 700 billion plus 4 extra bucks we might get a Starbucks coffee. But what exactly is the benefit to the American taxpayer for spending this money. Is there any value in it for us?
3) Why is this so last minute? Why do we have to decide right now when you two have been telling us the worst was over for months?
4) This whole no oversight of the treasury department clause- it feels like the financial version of the enemy combatant thing. Aren't you really just trying to pull a fast one on us (again) to gain more executive power?
5) So what you're really saying is that it's going to cost us 700 billion PLUS our constitutional rights to democratic oversight to save these companies? Is that really a cost effective use of our money and rights?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Further proof of the coming coup
The Curse of Living in Interesting Times
I was a very odd little girl. When I was a wee thing, I wanted to grow up to be a famous painter/ queen/ revolutionary. I could totally see myself running around a jungle in camos with a bandoleer of bullets, a portable easel, and a big sparkly crown.
As I grew up, some of those dreams shifted a bit. I'm an artist though I am far from famous. I have declared myself Queen of my own damn universe and you all know what i choose as my blogging id. But I thought that all my chances of being a revolutionary had died out with the end of the cold war and liberalization of Latin American governments (there is a reason I choose to learn Spanish instead of pretty, girly French in 7th grade- I thought I'd go start revolutions there, not here).
But I may not need my passport and malaria meds to get my inner rebel on after all.
It looks like we may just be in the middle of a coup after all.
(Giant disclaimer- I do not read HuffPo. Just like I do not read the orange Cheetoh. I am not a masochist so reading the often sexist dribble at either of those places is not my cuppa. This comes via Corrente. )
Larissa at HuffPo writes:
Yep, it sounds straight up like a coup to me. We are being blackmailed in to handing over $700 billion (some people are putting the real bailout cost at closer to 1.8 trillion) and our democratic system in order to ameliorate a massive and totally foreseeable disaster caused by those with money and ignored by those with the power to check it.
This is the moment. Right now we are about to learn if when the shit hits the fan, our government works for us or against us. And if it is against us we will have no other choice than to scrap it. Yes, scrap the entire thing. Learn from our mistakes, and move on.
And on that note, a few choice quotes from my favorite revolutionary. Damn, more than 200 years old and they are still dead on relevant.
"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
— Thomas Jefferson
1812
But with respect to future debt; would it not be wise and just for that nation to declare in the constitution they are forming that neither the legislature, nor the nation itself can validly contract more debt, than they may pay within their own age, or within the term of 19 years.
Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, September 6, 1789
As I grew up, some of those dreams shifted a bit. I'm an artist though I am far from famous. I have declared myself Queen of my own damn universe and you all know what i choose as my blogging id. But I thought that all my chances of being a revolutionary had died out with the end of the cold war and liberalization of Latin American governments (there is a reason I choose to learn Spanish instead of pretty, girly French in 7th grade- I thought I'd go start revolutions there, not here).
But I may not need my passport and malaria meds to get my inner rebel on after all.
It looks like we may just be in the middle of a coup after all.
(Giant disclaimer- I do not read HuffPo. Just like I do not read the orange Cheetoh. I am not a masochist so reading the often sexist dribble at either of those places is not my cuppa. This comes via Corrente. )
Larissa at HuffPo writes:
As I see it now, we have but two options and I have long alluded to hoping against hope that one of these options would not be the only one left to a peaceful people. The first and frankly most preferable option is for Congress to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against the members of this latest Business Plot.
No time needs to be wasted on hearings as we already now have in writing, formally as presented to Congress, the intentions of this administration to nullify Congressional powers permanently, to alter Judicial powers permanently, and to openly steal public funds using as blackmail the total collapse of the US economy if these powers are not handed over. You do see how this is blackmail, do you not? You do see how this is a manufactured crisis precisely designed to be used as blackmail, do you not?
Yep, it sounds straight up like a coup to me. We are being blackmailed in to handing over $700 billion (some people are putting the real bailout cost at closer to 1.8 trillion) and our democratic system in order to ameliorate a massive and totally foreseeable disaster caused by those with money and ignored by those with the power to check it.
This is the moment. Right now we are about to learn if when the shit hits the fan, our government works for us or against us. And if it is against us we will have no other choice than to scrap it. Yes, scrap the entire thing. Learn from our mistakes, and move on.
And on that note, a few choice quotes from my favorite revolutionary. Damn, more than 200 years old and they are still dead on relevant.
"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
— Thomas Jefferson
1812
But with respect to future debt; would it not be wise and just for that nation to declare in the constitution they are forming that neither the legislature, nor the nation itself can validly contract more debt, than they may pay within their own age, or within the term of 19 years.
Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, September 6, 1789
All right Obots- spin this hopey changey thing
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said Sunday that if he’s elected, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would be “involved” in the new administration’s transition – a very unusual move when the White House changes parties.
Paulson, 62, is the wealthy former chairman and chief executive of the investment bank Goldman Sachs, and is widely respected on Wall Street.
Obama’s announcement can be expected to reassure the business community, which initially had been worried about Obama’s plans to raise the tax on capital gains. But he has now said he would raise it much less than some had feared.
Obama has also indicated he might retain Defense Secretary Robert Gates as part of an effort to send a bipartisan signal at the start of his presidency.
Seriously, every fucking time I might be a tiny bit swayed towards Obama, he comes out and says something so stupid I can't believe that my resolve wavered for even a second.
Next thing you know, Paulson's gonna ride up to the Treasury on a rainbow shitting unity pony and ask Obama to hand him his crown made out of the paper of mortgage backed securities.
OHHHHHHH AND the fuckers upstairs are playing more god damned Whitney Houston. I do not wanna dance with somebody who loves me.
(HT to the Republic of Dogs)
Deliver us from evil
The frat boys upstairs have been blasting the crappiest music ever and singing along loud enough that I am half convinced that I am actually in the basement of a karaoke bar.
Let's see- currently being sang off key and badly timed is American Pie. Before that was Whitney Houson, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, and let's not forget the long of hour of Leonard Skynard serenades.
Please someone, anyone, shoot my ear drums out.
Let's see- currently being sang off key and badly timed is American Pie. Before that was Whitney Houson, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, and let's not forget the long of hour of Leonard Skynard serenades.
Please someone, anyone, shoot my ear drums out.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Households First
Below is a copy of a letter I just sent to my senators (and for good measure, Sens Clinton and Obama too) about the atrocious bailout program the treasury is trying to shock doctrine into place. I suggest that you all get on your emails and send your own request that our government think of Households First in any bailout plan. (Thanks again to BlueLyon for the phrase that pays).
Dear Senator:
In the current financial crisis, I beg you to think of households first.
Being at the bottom of the the barrel, with an income of less than half the poverty line and also being a single, now homeless, mother, has made my child and me the first victims of the economic downturn. We have always struggled, but the last year or so has been particularly bad. Where we used to spend one week of the month eating ramen noodles for dinner, we now spend two. We used to have a home. A place we lived for 5 years, one month and 26 days. Now we are couch surfing with whatever friends can take us in. I have been employed by the same place for 5 years, without a single raise, without healthcare, and without pension or retirement benefits. And I work for a community college. We used to be middle class, but life in the Bush economy has never been kind to us.
And then I see that the government is about to spend 700 billion to bail out the banksters. 700 billion (not counting the money already spent to bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae) and I am gobsmacked. As a country we can't come up with the money to make sure that people are housed and fed and treated when they are sick, but we can come up with the money to make sure that the financial tricksters don't have to pay for the risk they willingly took on. I may not be an economist, but I do know one of the basic tenets of capitalism is that those who can and do take the risks get the gain, but must suffer the consequences also. With these bailouts we have removed the downside of risk for them. We, the American people, have taken on the risk with none of the gain. And we are supposed to hand this bailout over to the profiteers with as little oversight and reform as possible. We might as well declare the Treasury Department to be an unquestionable god like entity with the powers they want enacted.
Now I may be atrocious when it comes to providing for my family financially, but I do know one thing. When my child comes home with atrocious grades, I don't bail him out by doing his homework for him. I don't punish him for misbehaving by buying him an ice cream cone. I know that would just reinforce the idea that bad behavior gets rewarded. The government cannot reward the bad behavior of the financial sector with a blank check and a pat on the back. And no one has explained to me how these bailouts are going to help the millions of homeowners who are facing foreclosure. To the contrary, I have heard the foreclosures are about to go up as ARMs are the next style of mortgage to go on the chopping block.
As a representative of the people of this country, I beg you to think Households First when it comes to the economy. It is real people who are losing their homes. Real people who can't make the same dollar they had yesterday stretch as far today. And it is those same people who are going to carry the tax debt for any bailout. It makes sense that they should be the first beneficiaries of assistance. The truth is that it doesn't matter if John McCain can't remember if he has 7 or 8 houses when so many people are about to lose their only home.
The government's first and most important job is to provide security for the people. For the Republicans, this has always been interpreted to mean strictly military security. But the current economy is inflicting a kind of violence on the populace that only strong governmental measures can stop. It is your job to protect us. The current plan from the treasury department will only strengthen the case for continued economic violence against the American people. It might be a better idea to just take the 700 billion and directly pay off as many sub-prime mortgages as possible. At least then we'd know the money was going to the people who need it. What difference does it make that they are paying income taxes instead of mortgages? Households first, then banks and brokers and insurance companies. This country is made up of households and the people that create them. And we are suffering. Please do you job and stop this continued assault on the American people. Don't pass the bailout bill without remembering who is paying for it, and how little we will benefit from it.
Sincerely,
RQ
Dear Senator:
In the current financial crisis, I beg you to think of households first.
Being at the bottom of the the barrel, with an income of less than half the poverty line and also being a single, now homeless, mother, has made my child and me the first victims of the economic downturn. We have always struggled, but the last year or so has been particularly bad. Where we used to spend one week of the month eating ramen noodles for dinner, we now spend two. We used to have a home. A place we lived for 5 years, one month and 26 days. Now we are couch surfing with whatever friends can take us in. I have been employed by the same place for 5 years, without a single raise, without healthcare, and without pension or retirement benefits. And I work for a community college. We used to be middle class, but life in the Bush economy has never been kind to us.
And then I see that the government is about to spend 700 billion to bail out the banksters. 700 billion (not counting the money already spent to bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae) and I am gobsmacked. As a country we can't come up with the money to make sure that people are housed and fed and treated when they are sick, but we can come up with the money to make sure that the financial tricksters don't have to pay for the risk they willingly took on. I may not be an economist, but I do know one of the basic tenets of capitalism is that those who can and do take the risks get the gain, but must suffer the consequences also. With these bailouts we have removed the downside of risk for them. We, the American people, have taken on the risk with none of the gain. And we are supposed to hand this bailout over to the profiteers with as little oversight and reform as possible. We might as well declare the Treasury Department to be an unquestionable god like entity with the powers they want enacted.
Now I may be atrocious when it comes to providing for my family financially, but I do know one thing. When my child comes home with atrocious grades, I don't bail him out by doing his homework for him. I don't punish him for misbehaving by buying him an ice cream cone. I know that would just reinforce the idea that bad behavior gets rewarded. The government cannot reward the bad behavior of the financial sector with a blank check and a pat on the back. And no one has explained to me how these bailouts are going to help the millions of homeowners who are facing foreclosure. To the contrary, I have heard the foreclosures are about to go up as ARMs are the next style of mortgage to go on the chopping block.
As a representative of the people of this country, I beg you to think Households First when it comes to the economy. It is real people who are losing their homes. Real people who can't make the same dollar they had yesterday stretch as far today. And it is those same people who are going to carry the tax debt for any bailout. It makes sense that they should be the first beneficiaries of assistance. The truth is that it doesn't matter if John McCain can't remember if he has 7 or 8 houses when so many people are about to lose their only home.
The government's first and most important job is to provide security for the people. For the Republicans, this has always been interpreted to mean strictly military security. But the current economy is inflicting a kind of violence on the populace that only strong governmental measures can stop. It is your job to protect us. The current plan from the treasury department will only strengthen the case for continued economic violence against the American people. It might be a better idea to just take the 700 billion and directly pay off as many sub-prime mortgages as possible. At least then we'd know the money was going to the people who need it. What difference does it make that they are paying income taxes instead of mortgages? Households first, then banks and brokers and insurance companies. This country is made up of households and the people that create them. And we are suffering. Please do you job and stop this continued assault on the American people. Don't pass the bailout bill without remembering who is paying for it, and how little we will benefit from it.
Sincerely,
RQ
The New Phrase the Pays!
Households First! Then banks.
HT to Bluelyon via Lambert.
This country is not made up of banks and corporations. It is made up of households. It is made up of families. Not all families are bankers and finance people and insurance industry mucky mucks, but all bankers and finance people and insurance industry mucky mucks are parts of households.
Fix households first, and you fix the whole of the problem. Subprime loans are toxic because the mortgage payments were more than the families could afford. Make the mortgages affordable and suddenly those loans aren't so toxic. Next up on the foreclosure block are the Adjustable Rate Mortgages, whose interest rates are about to skyrocket. Freeze those rates for a bit and people keep their homes. Which means they keep paying their mortgage on time, which means that the loans don't become the financial equivalent of toxic waste.
All of this falls into my gallon of milk analogy of economics, or why having more people who can afford some stuff is better for the economy than having a few people who can afford a ton of stuff. No matter how rich someone is, they are never going to buy more milk than they need. They may buy slightly more than the average person, perhaps two gallons a week instead of one. But that rich person is never going to be able to buy as much milk as 15 middle class families, or even 4 poor ones.
Now rich people who own a lot of property, like say John McCain and his 8 houses, will never be able to match the shear numbers of property owners in the middle class. They just can't. And keeping families in their houses benefits not just the family, but the neighborhood the family lives in (no foreclosure blight) and the city the house is in (property values stabilize because the number of houses on the market isn't increased) and banks stop panicking because mortgages keep being paid.
Now if we take the Republican view that those being foreclosed on didn't deserve to own their own homes to begin with, or even just go with the idea that we need to save the banks first and the people second, we end up with downward spiraling property values, massive homelessness, deteriorating communities, and skyrocketing rents.
So in this brave new Great Depression, remember Households First! Everything else will follow if we keep that in mind.
HT to Bluelyon via Lambert.
This country is not made up of banks and corporations. It is made up of households. It is made up of families. Not all families are bankers and finance people and insurance industry mucky mucks, but all bankers and finance people and insurance industry mucky mucks are parts of households.
Fix households first, and you fix the whole of the problem. Subprime loans are toxic because the mortgage payments were more than the families could afford. Make the mortgages affordable and suddenly those loans aren't so toxic. Next up on the foreclosure block are the Adjustable Rate Mortgages, whose interest rates are about to skyrocket. Freeze those rates for a bit and people keep their homes. Which means they keep paying their mortgage on time, which means that the loans don't become the financial equivalent of toxic waste.
All of this falls into my gallon of milk analogy of economics, or why having more people who can afford some stuff is better for the economy than having a few people who can afford a ton of stuff. No matter how rich someone is, they are never going to buy more milk than they need. They may buy slightly more than the average person, perhaps two gallons a week instead of one. But that rich person is never going to be able to buy as much milk as 15 middle class families, or even 4 poor ones.
Now rich people who own a lot of property, like say John McCain and his 8 houses, will never be able to match the shear numbers of property owners in the middle class. They just can't. And keeping families in their houses benefits not just the family, but the neighborhood the family lives in (no foreclosure blight) and the city the house is in (property values stabilize because the number of houses on the market isn't increased) and banks stop panicking because mortgages keep being paid.
Now if we take the Republican view that those being foreclosed on didn't deserve to own their own homes to begin with, or even just go with the idea that we need to save the banks first and the people second, we end up with downward spiraling property values, massive homelessness, deteriorating communities, and skyrocketing rents.
So in this brave new Great Depression, remember Households First! Everything else will follow if we keep that in mind.
What do you get when the IMF and the World Bank come calling?
You get to be relegated to 3rd world nation status.
Go read the whole thing. It's so fucking funny I could cry.
We thus want to acknowledge the progress you have made in your evolution from economic superpower to economic basket case. Normally, such a process might take 100 years or more. With your oscillation between free-market extremism and nationalization of private companies, however, you have successfully achieved, in a few short years, many of the key hallmarks of Third World economies.
Your policies of irresponsible government deregulation in critical sectors allowed you to rapidly develop an energy crisis, a housing crisis, a credit crisis and a financial market crisis, all at once, and accompanied (and partly caused) by impressive levels of corruption and speculation. Meanwhile, those of your political leaders charged with oversight were either napping or in bed with corporate lobbyists.
Go read the whole thing. It's so fucking funny I could cry.
Timeliness
The Canadian channel is showing the Grapes of Wrath.
Could it be that the Canadians are willing to admit something that our Dear Leaders are not?
Can you say Great Depression II, eh?
Could it be that the Canadians are willing to admit something that our Dear Leaders are not?
Can you say Great Depression II, eh?
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